Venti Hazelnut Latte
by Stixer111
Summary: Merlin spends most of his life worried that he'll find his soulmate while witnessing a crime, because what else could "Be quiet, don't give me away!" mean? Based on a tumblr post. WELCOME TO STARBUCKS story 1


**A/N- **So danydehaan posted something on tumblr that basically inspired this and several other fics, so I'll be writing them all out eventually. If you want to see the post that inspired this and the ones that will come after this, there's a link in my profile. This is going to be a multifandom series covering several ships, so each story will be posted individually. I hope you like it :D

**Venti Hazelnut Latte**

"Welcome to Starbucks, may I take your order?"

"OH MY GOD IS IT YOU?"

Merlin blinked as a tanned wrist bearing the very words he'd spoken suddenly appeared mere inches from his face. He bit back a sigh, this was the third time this week, and honestly, it happened so often he had a well-practiced response on the tip of his tongue.

"I'm really sorry, but I don't think so. Mine doesn't have anything to do with work." He said tapping a spot on his upper arm, where his own soulmark was covered by the black fabric of his uniform.

The girl on the other side of the counter looked a bit disappointed, but nodded anyway.

"S'alright. Can I have a Caramel Macchiato then?"

Merlin got the order ready, and on whim added the words "good luck!" under the girl's name.

Encounters like this were pretty normal for Starbucks employees, especially when thousands of people had the words "Welcome to Starbucks, may I take your order" or something similar as their soulmarks. There were also people like his friend Lance, who only took the barista job because his words read "**I'll have a tall vanilla latte and, are those brownies fresh, not that I'm insinuating you'd serve stale food, it's just that I just really like warm brownies, and-**" printed neatly between his shoulder blades.

Merlin had taken the job because he needed the job. He hadn't been lying when he'd told the girl his words had nothing to do with his job. He had come to the conclusion some years ago that he'd meet his soulmate while witnessing a crime in progress. His words curled around his upper arm in an elegant script, and read "**Be quiet, don't give me away!**", and really, how else are you supposed to interpret that?

The rest of his shift was pretty slow, it was nearing closing time anyway. There were only a few patrons left, some college students working silently on their laptops or from their textbooks. He was nearing the end of his shift, just an hour to go, when the door opened, and a man walked in. He was wearing a baseball cap, visor angled to shield his eyes from view, and a dark red jacket with collar upturned. He had a slight strut as he walked up to the counter. Merlin was punching in a few things into the register, but looked up when the man approached.

"Welcome to Starbucks, may I ta- no way!"

Standing in front of him was _the_ Arthur Pendragon. The lead singer of Round Table. Oh, Lance was not going to believe this. Merlin was pretty sure he was staring like an idiot, but he really couldn't care less, because Arthur freaking Pendragon was in his coffee shop.

Pendragon's eyes had widened, and his left hand rubbed at his forearm, almost absently. Merlin opened his mouth to say, well he wasn't sure what, but definitely something, when the other man hissed and said "Be quiet, don't give me away!"

Well fuck.

Merlin wasn't entirely sure what his face looked like, but he was willing to bet it was ridiculous, considering the way Pendragon's mouth was twitching.

"I'll show you mine if you show me yours" wait, did he just say that? He felt his face turn red, and Pendragon wasn't far behind, but the man rolled up his sleeve to reveal "**Welcome to Starbucks, may I ta- no way!**" in his own shitty writing running along a vein. He rolled up his own sleeve in return. Both men stared. Pendragon was first to break the silence with a rather loud whisper.

"Your handwriting is crap!"

Merlin spluttered "My handwriting? What about your words? I spent a pretty big chunk of my life thinking I was going to aiding and abetting a criminal!"

"Well you looked like you were going to give the game away! You recognized me after all!"

"I'm not an idiot! And if you didn't want to be recognized, you should have covered your face better!"

"Whatever!" huffed Pendragon "just take my order already!"

"As you wish, your highness" Merlin replied in the snottiest tone he could manage, and punched the register a little harder than necessary when ringing up Pendragon's venti Hazelnut latte. The man had the nerve to leave a note on his bill:

"_Sorry, that was rude. My people will be in touch ;)"_

Sodding winky face and all!

Merlin sorted "prat" he muttered under his breath.

It didn't stop him from putting his number on Pendragon's cup with smirk.


End file.
